Saturday, July 31, 2010

$10M for tennis center?

The days of the West Side Tennis Club Stadium at Forest Hills may be numbered. Members of the club are considering selling the historic venue to a housing developer for a sum of $8 to $10 million. The 14-acre property is surrounded by some of the most prestigious real estate in the borough and could be torn down to make way for future high-end residential housing.

All 825 members of the club are invited to an informational meeting on August 10 and those with voting rights are expected to vote on the fate of the century-old structure on August 19. The West Side Tennis Club Board of Directors requires a total vote of two-thirds in favor in order to move ahead with the project.

Club President Kenneth J. Parker declined to comment.

So far, only the acre of land covered by the stadium parcel has been chosen for possible development and it is unclear if a buyer has already been selected. The area has always been a prime location for development with the Long Island Rail Road station and Austin Street shopping area featuring numerous shops and restaurants nearby.

It's disappointing that the USTA has no ideas or is offering no funding to save and make fuctional again such an important piece of its history. But then again, the Yankees tore down Yankee Stadiuma and the White Sox tore down Comiskey so nothing is really shocking.

It's disappointing that the USTA has no ideas or is offering no funding to save and make fuctional again such an important piece of its history. But then again, the Yankees tore down Yankee Stadiuma and the White Sox tore down Comiskey so nothing is really shocking.

Welfare Hotel? Who the hell are you kidding? Do you really want to depress the real estate values of the surrounding houses that badly? We're talking on of the most prestigious areas of Queens and all of NYC.

A shitty condo will go up there instead - called the Tennis Club or something stupid.

It is crazy to destroy the history for a condo! The Austin street and nearby neighborhood are already much crowed. The schools are over enrolled.We have many ways to solve the financial problem. Selling to developer is not the only way.Forest Hills Gardens is the few places with its own character in NYC. Please don’t destroy it.Our children and grandchildren will blame us to turn a historical site to a condo.

The West Side Tennis Club does not acknowledge how iconic the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium is to the greater community (locally, nationally, internationally). This is one of the nation's greatest landmarks, and they should be open-minded and sell it to an organization that will reuse it in favor of the community. Read the posting on the Rego-Forest Preservation Council blog, which includes a letter campaign, memorabilia, status, the best reuse strategies, and commentary from the greater American public, which is whom the Stadium was conceived for. Play a role in its future. Not its potential demise. Time is of the essence!

Spotted a piece of Queens Crap in your community?

Please note

Italicized passages and many of the photos come from other websites. The links to these websites are provided within the posts.

Why your neighborhood is full of Queens Crap

"The difference between dishonest and honest graft: for dishonest graft one worked solely for one's own interests, while for honest graft one pursued the interests of one's party, one's state, and one's personal interests all together." - George Washington Plunkitt

Sites that kick ass:

The above organizations are recognized by Queens Crap as being beneficial to the city as a whole, by fighting to preserve the history and character of our neighborhoods. They are not connected to this website and the opinions presented here do not necessarily represent the positions of these organizations.

The comments left by posters to this site do not necessarily represent the views of the blogger or webmaster.